Golf ball cleaning device



Dec. 19, 1933. H' D DAY GOLF BALL CLEANING DEVICE Filed Sept. l0, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l j 0 a 5 ,g Wg. w f a WM i a f 5 l ,f5 MMM w W 6 M i; W MM W Q 0 wo vx L 9 9 y m 1m M m M H f A TTORNEYS.

Dec. 19, 1933. H. D. DAY 1,939,880

GOLF BALL CLEANING DEVICE Filed Sept. l0, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illl i' NVLENTOR. /gPz/d/dady BY @mm A TTORNEYS.

Dec. 19, 1933. H. Q DAY GOLF BALL CLEANING DEVICE Filed Sept. 10, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 CIUDDDDDUDCIQD CICIDUDDDCIDUDD INVENTOR. Waffe/' A TTORNE'J S.

Dec. 19, 1933.

H. D. DAY

GOLF BALL CLEANING DEVICE Filed Sept. l0,

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NVEN TQR, ion/07d@ qj/ ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 19, `1933 1,939,880 GOLF BALL CLEANINGl VDEVICE Howard D. Day, Providence, R. assignor to l Roterkleen Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Rhode Island Application September 10,. 1931 Serial No. 562,695

15 claims. (cult-fen- This invention relates to apower-operated golf ball cleaning device; and vhas for its object to provide a construction which may be manipulated to mechanically wash a golf ball by preso sure of the ioot upon the desired part. Y

Another object of the invention is the provision .of a rotary brush which may be mechanically operated to clean the surface of one or more golf balls as is desired and then present the balls l in a position from which they may be lifted from Another object of the invention is the provision of a construction in which the centrifugal force of the rotating part will position the ball l for cleaning and will then return the ball after cleaning to a position from which it may be withdrawn from the device. f

Another object ofthe invention is the provision of a construction which will be simple to assemble or disassemble as well as one whichl is economical to manufacture.

Another object'of the invention is the provision of means by which an electric or water motor may be interchanged that the desired power may be used.

Another object of Vthe invention is the provision of a control treadle which may be easily removedto expose the controls for themechanical mechanism of the device.

Another object of the invention is to prevent a short circuit in the electrical parts of the device.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a construction ,which will deliver a stream of water to the ball and brush at a` point of con- 35 tact of the ball and Vbrush to assist in cleaning the ball.

`A still further object of the `invention is the provision of a combined controlswitch and buffer for limitingv or retarding the action of thel control lever. I

i With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel features oi construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed outin the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation partly in section to illustrate the operating parts ofthe device.

Fig. 2 is a section `on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig.` 1.V Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 -is a detail sectional View throughjtlie upper end of the standard and the lower end of the motor casing` and motor.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6--6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a section on line 74%? of Fig. 2.

, With reference to the drawings 15 designates a provided with a Acap portion 22 lwhich is provided Fig'. 8 is a detailed section of a portion ofthe carrier and the brush `frame mounted thereon showing the manner of holding the brush on the carrier. Y

Fig. 9 is an enlarged-section of the carrier and 60 the mounting for the upper end of the motor.

Fig. 10 is aperspective View of a fragmental portion of the carrier.

Fig. l1 is a sectional View through the lower end of thel standard looking at the base and treadle. Y v

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of the contact control for the electric motor.A

Fig. v13 is a sectional View of a modification showing a water motor mounted in place of an `electric motor in the construction as illustrated in Fig. 1;

During the play vof golf the ball frequently collectsdirt which it is desired to remove, and washing devices are therefore stationed at convenient places about the golf course for the cleaning of the ball, and it is customary that such devicesV are hand manipulated, and in order` that the ball may be mechanically cleaned, I have provided a construction which enables the ball to be dropped within the device and a treadle pressed which causes water to be supplied with a brushing of theball to clean the same after which when the treadle isV released the ball is presented in a convenient position to be lifted from the machine; and the following is a detailed Vdescription 'cf the present embodiment of the invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous'results may be accomplishedzstandard which extends through a base 16 and its collar 17 to which it is attached, by brazing. Portion' 18 of this standard extends below the surface of the base to provide a support for the water conduits. A bowlshaped member 19is pro- 95 vided with a portion 2) which receives and is secured to the upper end of the standard 15 and held in place by set screws 21. This bowl is with a flange 23 tting within the bowl and pro- 100 vided with a recess 24 to receive screw studs 25 ex-` tending through the upper edge of the bowl and into this recess. These studs are provided with knobs 26 for the hanging of towels or the like thereon. The loweredge of the groove is cut away; at suitable points 24a to permit the studs to pass therethrough and the bowl lifted from` position Without withdrawing the studs 25. In order that this cap 22 may be locked in position, I have provided additional threaded openings 2'7 to` receive casing 42 and between it and the spider 46. Thev headless screws 28 which may be turned into position to have their inner end portions 29 extend into the recess 24 and lockthe cap in position on top of the bowl.v The studs 28 are provided with socket openings Si) Vfor the reception of a specially formed wrench so as to prevent unauthorized tampering Wth the machine.

The top surface of the cap portion 22 is provided with an annular trough or recess 31 forretaining golf balls thereon as desired, which trough may be drained in any suitable manner. The inner surface of the cap portion is provided with a recess 33 for the reception of a rubber pad 34 inserted into the undercut portions 35 thereof to hold the same in position with an air space back of the pad. This pad 34 may be provided with suitable protuberances 36 to engage a ball S7 as rotated to cause the same to have a vibratory motion. A vertically arranged recess 38 receives av cylindrical rubber buffer member 39 which may be slightly concaved outwardly, if desired, for providing a vertical'wall to limit the outward movement of the ball 37 due to centrifugal force when the same is being rotated.

I have disclosed in this application a construction in which either an electric motor or a water motor may be used by being secured to the water conduit 40 which extends vertically through the base 15 and which is provided with a threaded end 41. The pipe 40' in the standard is centered by a spider 46 engaging the inner surface of the tubular standard 15, and is held in adjustable position by a collar 44 secured to the conduit by a 'i set screw 45. In the use of the electric motor I provide a casing 42 which has a recess 43 to set over the upper threadedV end 41 Vandrest on the spider 46. A water tight joint is provided by means of a resilient washer 47 at the end of the frame 42 is heldV tightly on this washer as later described.

y The lower half of the casing 42 is designated 48 in which there is mounted an electric motor 49, the motor shaft 52 has a thrust bearing 52a located in a recess 50, in the lower half 48 of the casing, while the shellrof the motor has its bearing 521 provided with a protuberance 52 to fit into the recess 50 and about the bearing 52a. The

' upper half 51 of the casing sets upon the lower half 48 and through opening 51a the upper end of shaft 52 ofthe inotor extends while the upper and lower halves of the casing are bolted together through Iianges 53 and 54 extending outwardly and having a packing 55 therebetween.

The shaft bearing 52X is received in a recess 52y in the casing; The shaft is provided with a collar 5,2z to engage'the packing 77 in the recess 51b- These flanges are secured together by bolts 56a l and assisted by means of tubular nipples 56 brazed inthe lower flange and threadedat their upper ends to be engaged by a nut 57. Water conduits 58 extend from the recess 43 to the nipples 56 which are continued by the conduit 59 connected to these tubular nipples by a union 60 for deliver;-

ing water to the nozzles 68 which are connected to the pipe 59 by a suitable union similar to union 60. This construction provides for a conduit through the flanges which at the same time secure the anges of the casing together.

' to engage the flanges 53 and 54 of the casing 48--51 as a plurality of different points peripherally thereabout (that shown being four) to force the casing downward against the packing 47 to form a tight joint and at the same time by a relative movement cf the different bolts 141 the casing is centered with reference to the bowl.

On the upper end of the armature shaft 52, I have mounted a rnernber 61 having a boss 62 keyed to the shaft 52 which boss is threaded on its outer surface 63 to receive a tubular portion 64 of the carrier which consists of a plate 65 with a peripheral flange 66 extending downwardly from the outer edge thereof.

Openings 67 are provided about the carrier at the juncture of the ange with the plate to receive water from the nozzles 68 supplied through the conduits 5S and 59. The water is thus forced outwardly through the openings 67 to engage the ball 37 at the point where it rests upon the brush 79 in its outer operating position.

The brush comprises a back frame 71 with bristles extending therefrom and is supported on the lip 72 extending from the ange 6'6 of 'the carrier. This brush is held in engagement with the flange 66 by means of ears 73 extending downwardly from the brush frame 71 and bound in slots 74 in the lip 72 of the flange 66 by means of bolts 75 threaded through an opening 76 in the ear 73 to extend beneath the flange 66, as illustrated in'Fi'g's. 8 an'd l0.

A suitable oil treated packing 77 is'provided about the upper end of the armature shaft to prevent'the entrance of water into the motor, and members 79 may be threaded through the casing to engage the motor and prevent movement thereof with reference to the casing while energy for the electric motor is supplied by lead wires extending through tubes 80 secured in' the casing and which may be lifted with the casing from the standard and bowl when desired for replacement by a water motor.

The wires leading through the tubes 80 are conveniently secured to wires of the motor at detachi'ng points 81 and S2 for the disassembling of the device by removing the upper half of the casing thus permitting the wires to be drawn through the tubes 80 when desired. To remove the electric motor it merely necessary to take off the cap 22 and the upper half Yof the casing. disconnect the wires at 81 and 82 and lift the motor and its casing from place after which the water rnstor designated generally 83 in Fig. 13` may be assembled by threading the lower portion thereof onto the threaded conduitl 41 while portion 64 of the carrier socket may be threaded onto the waterV motor shaft 84. The water passing through the motor 83 may be conveyed through the constricted passages y85 to the turbine cups 85 for operating the shaft S4 after which the water will be discharged against the under side of the carrier to be forced outwardly through the openings 67 to the brush and ball resting thereon. Thus it is a very simple matter to interchange the water motor and an electric motor to accommodate the device to different sources of power available.,

The carrier plate 65 is inclined from a point adjacent its center, upwardly as it extends out ward and also the brush 70 is provided with a surface in line with the upwardly inclined surface of the carrier plate so that a ball will roll towards the center of the carrier plate when stationary to permit it to be lifted through the opening 88 in the cap part of the device.

is rotated, centrifugal force moves this ball out into engagement with Ythe brush 70 and against the buifer portions 34 and 39 for retarding its action and causing a rotation and cleaning of the ball by the brush.

The conduit 40 is connected Yat its lower end to aV T-coupling 90 which receives conduit pipes 91 and 92'through which water is supplied; These pipes 91 and 92 extend through suitable openings in the lower portion 18 of the standard. The pipe 91 is capped as at 95 while the pipe 92 is connected to a control valve 96 of the whistle type which is spaced from the standard by a collar 97. `This valve 96 is provided with an arm 98 and a plunger 99 while the supply pipe for the water which leads to the valve 96 is designated 100.V

A lever 101 is pvoted at 102 in the arm 98 and is bifurcated to provide arms 103 with suitableweights 104 at theirv ends to tend to rockV the lever upwardly into the position illustrated'in Fig. l. The lever 101 isprovided at one end with a roller 195 pivoted atV 106 forengagement with a rib 107 of the treadle 108. This treadle is pivoted over a cut-out portion 109 in the base 16,` by means of a pin 110 extending through openings in the ange 111 and through the ears 112'in the treadle 108 and is-held in ,position by means of set screws 113 as desired. Thus this treadle may` swing downwardly although it is provided withV a stop 114 to engagean abutment 115 on the base to limit its upward movement. In operating the treadle, the footris applied to the roughened portion 116 whereupon the cam portion 117 of the rib engages the roller 105 and forces the lever- 101 downwardly so that its abutment 118 will enf motor is used the buifer member is not provided with its flange 128 extending into this undercut 126 to tightly seal the switch against entrance of water. A rubber washer 129 is mounted upon the upper surface of the boss 125, while-an insu-'-r lating block 130 inset in the boss is provided on its edges with contact members 131and 132, one of which is connectedthrough suitable conduits to a circuit to the electric motor.

A closure plate 133 is secured to the bossY 120 of the cap by means of a screw 134 so that pressure upon the boss 120 will cause the plate 133 to come into engagement and bridge the contacts 131 and 132 to complete the circuit to the electric motor. Spring 135 forces the bridging member upwardly to assist its quick return movement although the elastic rubber of the vcap will complete this movement. 1 Y

In instances where the water motor alone is used the plug 130 will be of rubber of a size to permit of further downward movement of thel boss 120 and a greater opening of the valve 96 as more water will be required for the operation of the water motor than will be -r'quired where the electric motor is used and the water is supplied merely for cleaning purposes.

It will thus be seen that in either type of motor used upon stepping on thetreadle and dropping Ytl'ie ball through the opening 88 in the top of the device, the ball will be moved around the bowl and treated with water and byV brushing to clean the same and after this operation is completed relieving pressure on the treadle will shut oiT the 4water and stop the motor whether an electric motor or water motor is used whereby the ball will roll to the center of the carrier to be li'tc-d from the machine through the opening 88. f

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I'desire it to be lunderstood that I reserve 'the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the deviceis susceptible, the invention being dened and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claimzt 1. A golf ball cleaning device comprising a brush, means for rotating said brush, a relatively stationary wall at generally right angles to the surface of the brush for engaging the ball and retarding the movement of the ball to cause it to drag on the brush, and means for directing a stream of water to the brush -at its point of engagement with the ball. t

2. A golf ball'cleaning device comprising a car'- rier plate, an annular brush surrounding said plate the surface vof the plate and the ends of the bristles of the brush forming a substantially continuous surface, means for rotating said plate and brush, and a cylindrical wall surrounding said brush and in close proximity thereto to 'engage a ball in contact with said brush and limit its outward movement due to centrifugal force. 115

3. A golf ball cleaning device comprising a carrier plate, an annular brush surrounding said plate the surface of the plate and the ends of the bristles of the brush forming a substantially continuous surface, means for rotating said plate 120 and brush, and a horizontal resilient wall over said brush positioned to frictionally engage the surface of a ball, supported by said brush.

4. A golf ball cleaning device comprising a carrier plate, an annular brush surrounding said 125 plate, means for rotating said plate and brush,

a cylindrical resilient wallabout said brush and in close proximity thereto to frictionally engage a ball in contactwith said brush and limit its outward movement due to centrifugal force, and a horizonal resilient wall over said brush positioned to frictionally engage the surface of a ball supported by said brush.

5. A golf ball cleaning device comprising a carrier plate, an annular brush surrounding said plate, means for rotating said plate and brush, and a horizontal ywall over said brush positioned to engage the surface of a ball supported by said brush, the surface of the wall over said brush being provided with projections spaced a distance to permit a portion of the ball to be positioned between them to give a vibratory movement to the ball.

6. A golf ball cleaning device comprising a carrier plate, an annular brush surrounding said plate, means for rotating said plate and brush, and a horizontal wall over said brush positioned to engage the'surface of a ball supported by said brush, the surface of the wall over said brush Y being provided with projections spaced a distance to permit a portion of the ball to be positioned between them to give a vibratory movement to the ball, and means to limit the outward movement of the ball. v

7.A golf ball cleaning device comprising a carrier plate, an annular brush surrounding said plate, means for rotating said plate and brush, ay cylindrical wall surrounding said'brush and in close proximity thereto to engage a ball in contact with said brush to limit its outward movement due to centrifugalV force, and means for directing a stream of water to the brush atthe point of engagement of the ball with the brush.

`8. A golf bali cleaning device comprising a carrier plate, an annular brush surroundingY said plate, means for rotating said plate and brush, a horizontal Wall oversaid brush positioned to engage the surface of a ball supported by said brush at the point of its contact with the ball, and spaced projections on said horizontal wall to engage said ball and move it away from said wall.

9. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier having a top plate, a brush mounted on said carrier, and conduits in said carrier to direct water onto said brush in substantially a plane with the surface of the brush. Y

10. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier having a top plate with a downwardly-extending flange, a brush mounted on said flange and surrounding said carrier, and openings thru the flange `extending radially outwardly and located at the juncture of said plate and fiange to direct the water onto said brush.

11. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier plate inclined upwardly from its center outwardly, and a brush about said plate also similarly inclined on its engaging surface the sur-- face of said plate and the ends of the bristles of the brush vforming a substantially continuous surface, and means for rotating said plate and brush.' l

."12. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier having a plate with an edge flange, said plate being inclined upwardly from itsv center outwardly, and an annular brush aboutsaid flange also similarly inclined on its engaging surface, the working surface of said brushl being substantially a continuation of the inclined surface of said plate, and ymeans for rotating said plate and brush.

13. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier plate inclined upwardly from its center outwardly, a brush about said plate also similarly inclined on its. engaging. surface, means' for rotating said plate and brush, and conduits in said carrier to direct water onto the engaging surface of. said brush.

14. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier Vplate inclined upwardly from its center outwardly, a brushabout said plate also similarly Vinclined on its` engaging. surface, the working surface of said brush being substantially a continuation of the inclined surface of said plate, means for rotating said plate and brush, and a horizontalwall over said brush with which the ball engages as it moves up said incline.

15. In a golf ball cleaning device, a carrier plate inclined upwardly from its center outwardly, aV brush about said plate also similarly inclined on its engaging surface, the working surface'of saidbrush being substantially a ccntinuation of the inclined surface of said plate, means for rotatingsaid plate and brush, and a vertical wall to limit the movement of the ball outwardly of said plate.

HOWARD D. DAY. 

